Could You Repeat That? CXXXXVI

Brilliant Greens, Stefano Mancuso & Alessandra Viola
And if most of the plant's light receptors are concentrated in the leaves, the organs specialized for photosynthesis, what happens when a tree closes them? Exactly what happens to an animal when it closes its eyes: it rests.

Did You Ever Have a Family, Bill Clegg
She was, she sensed sharply as she reached the far side of the parking lot, an untouchable. Not from scorn or fear, but from the obscenity of the loss. It was inconsolable, and the daunting completeness of it--everyone, gone--silenced even those most used to calamity.

The Fishermen, Chigozie Obioma
I have now come to know that what one believes often becomes permanent, and what becomes permanent can be indestructible.

Daredevil, Volume 3 (graphic novel), Mark Waid, Greg Rucka, & Chris Samnee
SPIDER-MAN: Wait, wait, wait--No killing, nobody dies--
THE PUNISHER: Everybody dies, kid. Sometimes you even get to pick when.

The Water Knife, Paolo Bacigalupi
"It's not the lies. It's the silence. Silence is what gets me. All the things you don't say. All the words you don't write. That gets to you. After a while it just kills you."

A Red-Rose Chain, Seanan McGuire
"You know, just once, I want a beautiful woman to exploit me for something other than my magic and dangerous political connections."

The New American Cheese, Laura Werlin
Cheese is essentially a mass of protein that is quite content to stay that way.

Satin Island, Tom McCarthy
Thus, although he hadn't actually been killed until the moment of his impact, to all intents and purposes, he had. For the last hours--days, perhaps--of his life, he had (this is how Schrodinger would formulate it) been murdered without realizing it.

Kitty Goes to War, Carrie Vaughn
"You okay?" I asked, failing my attempt at subtle inquiry.
He shrugged. "I'm alive."
"That's good, right?" I said.
"Yeah," he said. "Eventually."

The Moor's Account, Laila Lalami
Telling a story is like sowing a seed--you always hope to see it become a beautiful tree, with firm roots and branches that soar up in the sky. But it is a peculiar sowing, for you will never know whether your seed sprouts or dies.

The No Recipe Cookbook, Susan Crowther
Good health is subversive. You have to work, research, defend, and sometimes fight for your right to be healthy.

The Human Division, John Scalzi
More tentacles shot up, roping around Wilson's shoulder and head. "Okay, I am officially not liking this anymore," he said.
"Is it painful?" the groundskeeper asked. "I am asking for science."

All a Twitter, Morris Tee
Yes, it’s a tweet. You’re using Twitter. Lighten up and let’s communicate.

Lila, Marilynne Robinson
The knife was a potent thing. Other people had houses and towns and names and graveyards. They had church pews. All she had was that knife.

A Trick of the Light, Louise Penny
As he watched she tilted her gray head to the skies. And listened. For a distant sound, like a train. Someone coming home.